Timothy Terbolt
Newbie
I regularly fly with pilots in Autogyro gyroplanes whose take-off technique is "pre-rotator off, stick back, brake off, full power" with no reference made to rotor rpm during the initial stage of the take-off roll. Less often, but still too often, I fly with pilots who allow the aircraft to start rolling forwards before the stick is all the way back (btw, if they did that on a test then they would fail). Pilots who use a take-off technique like that are more likely to be caught out when operating a Rotax 915 than they will be with a 912S.
Full power on take-off will not always be the best technique, particularly for a student / low hours / low currency pilot. One has to balance performance requirements against the increased yaw/roll induced by full engine power, particularly when operating at light weight. Taking off on a short strip at MTOW is a very different scenario to solo on a long runway. A 70kg solo pilot flying one of the more popular open-cockpit tandems with a Rotax 914 would rarely have a need to use full power on take-off.
When it comes to training we have to work with the material we have, not what we would like. That often means working with students with no particular talent and at the older end of the age range. Napier Sabres would have been operated by youngsters who had been carefully selected for ability and who would have been thrown off course if they weren't able to meet the required standard. That isn't the world of recreational aviation.
Full power on take-off will not always be the best technique, particularly for a student / low hours / low currency pilot. One has to balance performance requirements against the increased yaw/roll induced by full engine power, particularly when operating at light weight. Taking off on a short strip at MTOW is a very different scenario to solo on a long runway. A 70kg solo pilot flying one of the more popular open-cockpit tandems with a Rotax 914 would rarely have a need to use full power on take-off.
When it comes to training we have to work with the material we have, not what we would like. That often means working with students with no particular talent and at the older end of the age range. Napier Sabres would have been operated by youngsters who had been carefully selected for ability and who would have been thrown off course if they weren't able to meet the required standard. That isn't the world of recreational aviation.